International Mathematical Talent Search(IMTS)

The International Mathematical Talent Search
(IMTS) is a
competitive year-round correspondence program in creative
mathematical problem solving at the secondary school level. It
is open to all students in every country at no cost. The
program parallels the USA Mathematical Talent Search
(USAMTS),
which was founded in 1989. The IMTS is featured as a regular
column in Mathematics and Informatics Quarterly
(M&IQ),
which was initiated in 1991.

There are four rounds of five problems in each year of the
IMTS. The rounds are numbered consecutively, and hence each
participating country can specify the appropriate rounds for
its academic year. Ideally, students are expected to submit
solutions in the designated four rounds corresponding to their
school year, and accumulate points accordingly. Thereby, with
5 points per problem, they can accumulate 100 points per year.

The solutions should be submitted to the appropriate member of
the
International Panel of Judges. In
case their country in not represented, we hereby request the
submission of solutions to the coordinator of the program, Dr.
George Berzsenyi, whose address is

Each submission should have a cover sheet identifying the
student, his/her grade level, home address, country, and the
school he/she attends. The solutions should be complete,
well-written, and -- if sent (via air mail) to the above
address -- in English. Submission criteria in the
participating countries will be determined and publicized by
the appropriate members of the International Panel of Judges.

This program was initiated in 1989 by Professor George Berzsenyi
and his colleagues in the Department of Mathematics at
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT) under the auspices
of the Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP)
via a regular column in COMAP's Consortium. The program
has been supported by RHIT, COMAP, and by grants awarded by the
Exxon Education Foundation, the National Science Foundation
(NSF), and by the National Security Agency (NSA). The program
was transferred to NSA and COMAP in 1997, and it is presently
directed by Dr. Gene Berg, the Mathematics Advisor to the Chief
Scientist of the NSA.

In addition to being regularly featured in Consortium,
the USAMTS also has a web site at the NSA, whose URL is

In addition to the problems (which are numbered differently,
but identical to those of the IMTS), the above web site also
includes solutions to the problems, as well as a detailed
description of the program's aims, history, and highlights. Moreover,
the
USAMTS Newsletter, which is published (and circulated
among the USAMTS participants) at the end of each round, is
also posted on this web site.

In addition to featuring the problems and solutions to the
problems of the IMTS (edited by Professor Berzsenyi), this international
publication contains a
variety of lively problem sections and interesting articles
appropriate for outstanding students at the secondary level.
For subscription information and for guidelines for prospective
authors, please see the following web site of the International
Olympiads in Informatics, maintained by Professor Tom Verhoeff
of The Netherlands:

The four issues of Volume 9 of M&IQ, to be published in
1999, will feature the problems of Rounds 32-35, and the
solutions of Rounds 29-32, respectively. Round 29 was the
equivalent of Round 1 / Year 10 of the USAMTS.

Students wishing to submit solutions to the problems of the
IMTS, should first check the following list for a judge
representing their country. If they find such a
representative, they should submit their solutions to that
person in accordance with the guidelines specified by him/her.
If their country is not represented, they should send their
solutions to the IMTS Coordinator, whose address is given in
the Program Description above.

Participants of the IMTS should be aware that the following
list of judges is still evolving, and hence it is subject to
frequent changes. We also wish to emphasize that at no time
will there be any comparisons of the results or of the level of
participation in different countries. The main purpose of the
IMTS is to promote creative mathematical problem solving as an
intellectual endeavor among students of similar interest, and
to give them an opportunity to formulate their solutions in
English, which is fast becoming the accepted language of
mathematics.

Code

Country

Judge

Address

ARM

Armenia

Garnik Tonojan

Aygestan 9, Str.67, Apt. 34 375025 Yerevan

AUS

Australia

Chris Harman

Department of Mathematics University of Southern Queensland Toowoomba QLD 4350

Department of Mathematics University of Cape Town Private Bag 7700 Rondebosch

SPA

Spain

Francisco Bellot Rosado

Dos de mayo 16 - 8o dcha. 47004 Valladolid

TAH

Tahiti

Pierre-Olivier Legrand

B.P., 5518 Pirae

ZWE

Zimbabwe

Erica Keogh

Mathematics Department University of Zimbabwe Mount Pleasant, Harare

Mathematicians in other countries who are interested in joining our
efforts on the IMTS Panel of Judges may wish
to contact Professor George Berzsenyi by e-mail
(GBerzsenyi@aol.com)
or at the address given below.